June 2, 2012

You don't see George W. Bush traveling around the country campaigning for Republicans, even in a gentle, dignified way. But his fellow former President Clinton is jumping into the Wisconsin recall election. Note too that Bush never criticizes President Obama, to whom he paid a cordial visit in the White House yesterday:

Beautiful clip:

Three of the 5 living Presidents were there in that charming scene. Bill Clinton was in Milwaukee, insulting Scott Walker. I don't know what Jimmy Carter was doing. But you tell me: How should a former President conduct himself? Should he do partisan politics, or should he withdraw to a higher plane of national eminence?

ADDED: What did they say off camera? I'm picturing some reference to the time Bush said "I want justice, and there's an old poster out West I recall, that said, 'Wanted, Dead or Alive'"and how Obama went with: dead.

52 comments:

GOP ex-Presidents (Bush W, W H, Ford, Reagan. Nixon, Ford, and Eisenhower see themselves as gentlemen and gentlemen don't make things harder for the POTUS and therefore the country. Dem ex-presidents since Truman, love the game too much to let it go.

A higher plane of national eminence? I think it depends on how you view the office. If the president is a substitute for an hereditary monarch, then he should remain in the 'palace of his abdication' and out of the public gaze. If he is a public servant who, among other jobs and offices, served for four years as chief magistrate, why shouldn't he remain involved in political life?

You misunderestimate Clinton's intellect. The converse is that you are overestimating Bush's. Getting through those two terms sapped any little bit of gray cells he had. But I think he is fundamentally a decent guy and he seems like a very nice guy next to Obama. Let Clinton be Clinton. Comparisons like these are ludicrous and show your bias. Everyone even presidents have a right to lead their lives the way they see fit.

Obama and Michelle are really nice in that video clip, along with the charming George W.

What did they say off camera? I'm picturing some reference to the time Bush said "I want justice, and there's an old poster out West I recall, that said, 'Wanted, Dead or Alive'"and how Obama went with: dead.

When GWB hosted Clinton for the unveiling of Clinton's portrait, Bush made a deliberate decision to be very warm and dignified. Clinton responded in kind, and the two developed a relationship. GHWB and Clinton developed a famous bromance.If you recall, Clinton did not badmouth W in the 2004 campaign. He barely campaigned for Kerry, and he said he liked both men.

It will be interesting to see if Obama can be as big as any of these three men.

cubanbob said...Clinton was an ass twenty years ago and is still an ass today.-----------Same could be said about Nixon.Like it or not, both guys possessed brilliant minds and were not about to retire to a golf course - they had more to contribute, they believed.

I don't believe that former presidents should continue to perform in the public arena except in a low key personal way. The visits by the Bushs to FT Hood or to the Dallas airport are fine. I neither case did they make any public statements relatingf to policy, politics, or national party.

The exception would be if a current president specifically asked that a former president represent the country, not the current president, in some capacity. On a couple of occasions former presidents attended state funerals when asked by the sitting president if I recall correctly.

The presentation was that the former president was in fact representing the US, not the current president, to avoid any question of priority or insult etc.

Seems like Clinton is doing what he can to imitate the James Garner character from the movie 'My Fellow Americans". Meanwhile Bush is (wisely) not imitating the Jack Lemmon character.A very funny movie, btw.

I thought the story was Eisenhower took Kennedy to task over The Bay of Pigs privately.

This is what you do.

Carter is horrible, you don't love me so I'll badmouth you.

Obama will be worse.

I don't recall Truman, so the 1st president to show disrespect to the office was Carter. You don't do that. Just like when the former rapist-in-chief called 41 Mr. Bush. I don't remember that growing up either.

If he is a public servant who, among other jobs and offices, served for four years as chief magistrate, why shouldn't he remain involved in political life?

So basically former GOP Presidents are idiots that they don't remain in perpetual campaign mode. It's all about the POWER man, you gotta grab it while you can and STUFF it down our throats. POWER POWER POWER all the time. PUSH PUSH PUSH all the time. PUSH PUSH PUSH all the time RIGHT ON DOWN THE LINE!

Just finished "Colonel Roosevelt", the third in the Theodore Roosevelt trilogy by Edmund Morris. Although Roosevelt tried to remain silent, he laid into Woodrow Wilson ferociously. As World War I started and dragged on he criticized Wilson in speeches and in articles published in magazines and newspapers for refusing to start any sort of preparation of either the Navy or the Army for a war he believed the United States would soon join. He believed Wilson and his Secretary of State, William Jennings Bryan, to be ditherers whose refusal to face reality would cause many needless deaths.

He was also extremely vocal as well of the Taft administration, though to a lesser degree.

Pity W didn't respond to Little Black Jesus' whining about the "mess" he "inherited" - on a day that should have been free from politics, no less - by saying that he was looking forward to the day he could see Obama being hung.

Worthless, classless ghetto trash. Him and his sour-faced, estrogen-deficient harridan of a "wife."

1. Washington for deciding to limit himself and set a precedent for two terms.2. Adams II for getting himself elected to Congress and acting thereafter as a legislator not an executive.3. Truman for keeping quiet though he hated Eisenhower.4. Eisenhower for humility in the face of being a great military and political hero. Also for keeping his disdain for Kennedy under wraps.5. Grant for his memoirs.6. Bush 41 and 43 (tie) for quiet class.7. Reagan for his amazing letter (probably should be higher.)justepd

Obama and Michelle are really nice in that video clip, along with the charming George W.

What did they say off camera? I'm picturing some reference to the time Bush said "I want justice, and there's an old poster out West I recall, that said, 'Wanted, Dead or Alive'"and how Obama went with: dead.

Damn, but you are fixated on those assholes. Like the NYT, you will spin anything to look like Obama is AWESOME when, in truth, he's full of shit.

It was the Obama's who shuddered, and bitched, when George said "Wanted, Dead or Alive" - and probably you, too - so don't try and bullshit me. That backstabbing bean pole wouldn't be in the WH without betraying everything W stood for, so fuck him, fuck your comment, and fuck the metric system.

To bad that's not true. Truman wrote articles blasting Eisenhower which were chock full of lies. Discovered just how active Truman was in his disinformation campaign was a big factor in me losing all respect for him.